Ciao
a tutti!! I was recently asked to review “Glicco’s Pasta Gravy.” Right off,
when I saw that they referred to their sauce as gravy, I knew this was a very good start. You see, many Italians do
not call tomato sauce, sauce; they call it gravy, as does my family, so I felt I
was in good company.
At first, I was a little nervous to be
perfectly honest. I admit to preparing my sauces 99% of the time, the other 1%
is usually when I am very tired or I just need to make something fast!! But, I
do know that delicious prepared gravy’s DO exist, since those are the ones that
I purchase!!
Glicco’s
Pasta Gravy is made by Elbow Foods, founded by Kim and Derek Glicco. On the
back of the jar, there is a wonderful story about the inspiration behind the
gravy. Derek shares memories of his grandmother spending hours cooking in the
kitchen and when she was finished, family and friends loved to sit down at her
table and have a taste. The recipe for the gravy dates back four generations
and is completely natural. The only ingredients listed are tomatoes, tomato
paste, tomato sauce, onions, peppers, garlic, spices, water, honey and salt.
Notice something interesting here? You can pronounce all the words and there is
no corn syrup!! 
I
could not believe how fresh the sauce tasted, I’m not even kidding. You would
never guess that this came out of a jar, that’s how good it was! It was thick
and rich, not at all weak and watered down like many jarred sauces. I served it
on ravioli; I wanted the sauce to stand out on its own without any meat or add-ons,
just good old fashioned gravy over pasta. It was slightly chunky and you could
really taste the herbs. The touch of honey gave it a perfect natural sweetness
which balances with the tomatoes very nicely. It was so delicious; I’m planning
on serving the rest with gnocchi tomorrow night!! For more information about
Glicco’s Pasta Gravy, be sure to take a look at their site, http://elbowfoods.com/ and be sure to head
over to their facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ElbowFoods and tell them
that La Cucina Prima Donna sent ya!! Buon Appetito!!
You know, I made a rule not to use jarred pasta sauces you find at the mass market supermarkets (I'll refuse to call them gravy out of respect for the authentic versions) because they are inferior. I had the chance to try a jarred sauce from a specialty mom and pop operation that, like the sauce you tried above, had all recognizable names on the list of ingredients. I didn't even add salt and pepper but it was soooo goooooood!
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to sample this.